These Flesh Ball Sculptures Make Us Feel Weird

We may not know much about art, but we know what we like. And we’re not sure we like the “Fleshlette” series of sculptures by Los Angeles artist Jonathan Payne. Sure, they’re impressively realistic, but they’re also incredibly disgusting.

Payne began working on the sculptures a few years ago. After having worked in the fantasy genre for much of his career, he wanted to develop a visual vocabulary that was uniquely his own. The end result were these disturbing balls of organs and body parts, mashed together seemingly in chaos but actually with a bizarre internal logic. Nipples, fingers, teeth and hair jut from their cores. They look real enough to come to life and torment you in a Freddy Krueger-esque nightmare.

Made from polymer clay, Payne’s sculptures glisten with oil and draw attention no matter where they’re placed. A lot of work goes into each one.

“Each Fleshlette starts out as a sketch, then a miniature clay study. The final sculpture is created out of polymer clay, acrylic paint and real human hair. Each piece…focuses on one or two different human body parts. For me, artwork like this is a celebration of the weird and wonderful experience of owning a human body.”